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The Carolina Hurricanes, established in 1972, are a professional ice hockey team that are current members of the Eastern Conference, Southeast Division of the NHL. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the team plays their home games at RBC Center. Originally the Hurricanes were located in Boston and titled the New England Whalers. The team lasted in their clam chowder home for seven years before arena scheduling difficulties saw them relocate to nearby Hartford, Connecticut. In 1979, when the WHA merged with the NHL, the league already had a New England titled team so the Whalers adopted the Hartford Whalers moniker.
While the Whalers remained in Hartford just shy of two decades, the team never saw the glory they had experienced in the WHA. Then in 1997, under new ownership, the team relocated again to Raleigh, North Carolina. Owing to lagging construction on a Raleigh arena, the newly based Carolina Hurricanes had to make due playing on ice located 90 minutes away in Greensboro, North Carolina. This scenario saw a downswing in sales of the new Southeast Division Carolina Hurricanes tickets as fans proved averse to making the trip and residents harbored resentment of the team pushing the local minor league franchise aside. After several years of mediocre play, the Hurricanes found their footing with a 2006 Stanley Cup Finals win against the hearty Canadian Edmonton Oilers. Throughout their successes and failures, the Hurricanes racked some hard-hitting divisional rivalries with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and the northerly Winnipeg Jets. Since the start of their career the Carolina Hurricanes have won a handful of conference and division championships and remain on the path to tucking more titles under their belts.
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